Riot on the Sunset Strip

Just got back from a small dinner party/slide show celebrating the above book.  It's a collection of rare photos of the Sunset Strip in the 60's.  Some really remarkable stuff in there, ranging from the Beatles playing the club circuit to Sonny and Cher screwing around.  It covers a lot of ground and really gives a considerably more detailed vision of the time than I've ever gotten anywhere else.

The big thing I came away from it with, though, was just how commercial Los Angeles has always been.  Even at the height of the 'swingin' 60's' with it's free love, etc.  These clubs were really just filled with guys trying to get record deals, much like today.  San Francisco and New York, on the other hand, were about creating music, art, culture, and revolution (although, to be less pie in the sky, clearly they all wanted to be rich, too.  They just had the decency to pretend not to.)Someone commented how all of the kids in the photos have short hair.  That's probably the ultimate signifier for me about the put upon falseness of the time period in this city.  While all the other kids in the country were out there growing their hair and fighting the power in stifling small towns, these kids were more concerned with getting on Shindig.

Of course, even knowing that, it must've been amazing to see Hendrix playing across the street from Zappa while Buffalo Springfield played their second set of the night and the Doors opened for Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Anyways, the book is definitely worth the scratch.  Go get it.